Fake iPad 2 tablets in high demand for Chinese festival

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Though the iPad 2 isn’t even available in most Asian countries yet, people in Malaysia are trying hard to get their hands on the tablet — well, sort of. The sought-after tablet is not a real iPad 2, it’s actually a paper replica they wish to burn for the week-long Qingming festival.

Also known as Ancestor Day or Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Qingming festival is celebrated within Chinese communities as a way to honor ancestors. To celebrate, people burn effigies of money and luxury items, such as replicas of the iPad 2, Louis Vuitton handbags, cars, and other symbols of wealth. But just as the real-life tablet is in the US, the iPad 2 replica is a hot commodity right now that’s hard to get a hold of.

Reuters spoke with a store owner outside of Kuala Lampur, Malaysia who said he ordered 300 iPad 2 replicas from a manufacturer in China. These of course quickly sold out and the owner, Jeffrey Te, is struggling to meet the demand of his customers. The shop was left with the first-generation iPad replicas and Galaxy Tab replicas, which apparently aren’t nice enough for the festival.

The iPad 2 version being sold had a capacity of 888GB, which Reuters said was “an auspicious number in Chinese culture.” The replica sells for $1, whereas a real 16GB iPad starts at $499. But, some families aren’t convinced that the imitation iPad 2 is the best thing to buy for their deceased relatives. Some think it would be silly to honor them with something that wasn’t even around in their lifetime and will be sticking to burning designer bag knock-offs and piles of fake money.